For You, the World
by theshippingmechanic
Summary: Blue crashes into Piper's life, and fixes it to be better than new. Female SoSu/Piper Wright, long, low, and slow burn. Partially diverges from canon for depth's sake. Rated M for violence, language, and boring descriptions of technological theory.
1. Blue

For You, The World

Piper barely saw anything before the woman dressed in blue stumble and collapse onto the door of Diamond City, supported by a DC security guard. "Get her inside! Mutants are coming!"

Piper banged on the intercom again. "Did you hear that Danny?! We've got wounded and Mutants are incoming! These guys need backup!"

The radio crackled as the great green and yellow hydraulics groaned to life, "Alright, alright!" Danny exclaimed.

The guard shoved the blonde onto Piper, shouldered his rifle, and began to return fire. Incompetent as they were pursuing possible missing persons, DCS was far from lazy or ineffective when it came to immediate and tangible threats. Like Super Mutants. Or a lack of dinner.

The door opened enough to duck underneath and scramble inside Diamond City's entrance. Bullets pinged off of the metal behind them, along with Molotov cocktails and lots of yelling. DCS officers were sprinting towards them, "Move it, move!"

The woman was light, weighted down only by her heavy boots, the .45 strapped in a loose holster, and of course by the several inch-deep laceration on her shoulder. Her gold hair was matted with blood, what looked like twin bullet holes to her left leg, and her clothing- wait, was that a vault suit?

"Doctor Sun! Doc! Dammit, I need help over here!" Piper screamed.

Pastor Clements was first to arrive, putting the woman's-Blue, Piper decided- right arm around his shoulder. Sun ran to them. "By god. Get her to the medical center, quickly!"

"No doc, we were just going to let you operate on her here." Piper wheezed as they dragged/sprinted the semiconscious woman to triage.

"Not time for sarcasm!" Sun snapped at Piper. "Get me antiseptic, now! Pastor, hold her down, I'm out of pain reliever. She's going to fight."

Clements and Piper scrambled to do as instructed. Sun grabbed his suture kit and emergency trauma aids. He set to work even before Piper completed finding the antiseptic, "Won't that infect her?"

"Deal with infection after she's stabilized. Have you found the antiseptic?"

Piper grabbed a jar of clear liquid and ran it to the doctor. "Here!"

The surgery took six hours, taking the four into the dark of night. Blue had screamed to the point where Nat felt the need to come outside to make sure there weren't wolf ghosts howling. They had eventually resorted to duct taping her mouth shut, compliments of Myrna, who figured "Anyone who screams and bleeds that much probably isn't a synth."

Pastor Clements sat next to the cot where the patient was fitfully sleeping, IV bags everywhere. Doctor Sun was passed out in his house, door open for any more updates of yelling. Piper was leaned up against a cabinet. They sat quietly for a good long while, listening to the woman shudder, groan, and mutter in her sleep. Piper caught the words _vault, Shaun,_ and _dog_. The first word jogged her mind as to what Blue's suit said-  
"Vault 111," Piper said aloud, to no one in particular.

Pastor Clements looked up. "I haven't heard of that one yet."  
"Me either. That's why I'm worried. What happened in the Vault to make her come here? And what happened to her on the way?"

Clements looked thoughtful. Or maybe just shell shocked. He looked about as bad as Piper felt. For someone near death and missing most of their internal blood, holding the woman down had exhausted Piper more than running away from most things in the commonwealth. "Perhaps she was running toward something?"

"Maybe, but if she was from a vault, her whole life would have been there. I want to interview her when she wakes up."

Even in the moonlight, the pastor's face looked a little judgemental. "I hardly think she needs someone butting into her life right now-"

"Probably not, but you know me. I don't let anything go."

Clements raised an eyebrow, his equivalent of an eye roll. "Go sleep on it. I'll get you if she wakes up."

Piper stood, leaning heavily on the counter. "Thanks, pastor."

The reporter walked across the footpath to her house, entered the house, and promptly crashed on the couch.

.o.0.o.

The rapping on the metal door pulled Piper from sleep into a daze. "I'll get it!" shouted Nat, who was clearly skipping school. Again. "Hey Doc! Come on in."

"You're- ungh- so grounded-mmmph" Piper groaned out.

"Piper? It's the woman." Doctor Sun said, gently shaking her shoulder. "She's awake and kicking, literally."

Piper flopped off the couch. It wasn't her proudest moment. She got to her feet slowly. "Alright. Let's see the patient."

The patient was ripping IV needles out of her arm, cursing, swearing, muttering, and sweating profusely. "Fuckin pincushion is what I end up being. Two hundred goddamn years on ice and this is the first thing to happen. Oh sure, nukes drop, 'Let's hide underground babe, we were both in the army so we'll definitely get on the list.' Dammit Nate."

Piper heard every word, but it was like hearing a different language. The Vault dweller spotted her and Sun. "Oh no you don't, stay the fuck away from me." She reached for her pistol, which was now lying near a surgery tray. Sun snatched it before she could lay a hand. "I just spent six hours sewing your injuries, not to mention I gave you a free haircut, so quit trying to put holes in people you can't pay to put back together!"

The woman had frozen- her eyes were wild, likely from pain Piper guessed, but her voice was mostly controlled when she asked, "You're- you're not experimenting on me- your coat says- Vault-Tec and-"

Piper knelt, grabbed the woman's shoulders, and said, "We're trying to help you. Please trust me. You need to rest."

She felt her heart reach out to this beautiful, lost woman.

Blue's eyes became unfocused and began to spin. "Oh, God," she whispered, before collapsing sideways onto the cot.

Sun sighed. "She should be out for a few minutes. Do you think you could check with Solomon to see if he has any sedatives?"

Go figure, he too was out of supplies due to increased raider activity on supply lines.

Piper took a chair next to the woman, while Sun went to consult with Crocker on- whatever, and began to study this mysterious woman.

Sun had indeed shaved a third of her scalp to access a shrapnel slice across her right temple. That alone was probably the least interesting part of her. She had her Vault Suit peeled back to her torso, a complicated series of gauze wraps and duct tape covered most of her shoulder and chest, and obscuring a tattoo on her bicep. A silver bead chain ran into those same bandages, hiding whatever pendant was below. An engagement ring and wedding ring sat on her finger. Blue had two scars on her face, one perpendicular to her left eye and one on her chin, like she'd smacked her head on a set of monkey bars. She had a second tattoo on her right side ribcage. It looked mercenary, like she was from the Gunners. But the Gunners used a tattoo on their foreheads, nowhere else. Part it was torn away and healed over with another scar.

, E

2-47-5239

AB POS

NONDENOM

WE FALL AS ONE

With more information came new questions. What faction tattooed their members? Did they operate out of Vault 111? Were they like the Capital Brotherhood down south? Or some maniacs in the Midwest? With no good answers, she sighed and began work on the issue. Halfway through her second paragraph describing being ejected from the city by the mayor, it began to rain. Pour, really. It was very relaxing.

"God, look at how fucked up this world is." A soft voice said to her left.

"Excuse me?" Piper said, astonished.

"This was a ball park. Diamond City, my ass"

"This is one of the biggest cities in the Commonwealth. Best fortifications around."

"And what are you?"

" _Who_ am I. I'm just as human as you are, Blue."

"Blue?"

"Yeah, you know, the Vault suit. Blue. Anyways, I'm a reporter. Who are you?"

"I guess I'm a machinist."

"You build robots?" Piper stood, on guard. She'd heard rumors about a crazy person who sent out killer robots across the 'wealth.

"What? No, I hate computers. A machinist is someone who builds parts to high tolerances."

"How did you learn that? I can't think of anywhere that teaches that kind of skill."

"Well, I'm from the Midwest. Taught myself." Her left eyebrow jerked up.

"So why are you here?"

"A Minuteman- Preston- Told me to come here."

"The Minutemen? Thought they were all wiped out. What are you looking for?"

"Well...


	2. Hi Honey!

Frozen for two hundred years. Baby kidnapped. Husband murdered. On a trail of vengeance as soon as she was back up and running. Which she was. Literally. Two days after Sun released her with her arm in a sling, Blue was running laps around the top of Diamond City's wall.

"I never said thank you. Sorry. Thanks for saving my life and everything." Blue said one evening at dinner, as she was staying with Piper and Nat. The new issue of the paper had sold so well, Piper was happy to accommodate her for a while.

"Don't sweat it. Easiest thing I've ever done."

"Hey," Blue grabbed Piper with her good arm and stared into her eyes. It always made Piper feel like her soul was being etched into. "I mean it. You've been uncharacteristically Massachusetts by being not shitty."

Piper fought the shiver running through her. "You did help. Your story sold enough so I can keep you around for a week or so. Maybe a bit longer if you'd eat less."

The woman grinned and pushed back her hair. "Nope. Gotta get back in fighting shape. I'm going to practice shooting with my left again. Arturo gave me a few rounds and targets to practice with. All I had to do was tell him how to ask you out."

Piper gasped and punched the blonde's good shoulder. "You did not!"

"Ow! Hey!" Blue laughed, "I'm kidding, he was just thanking me for calming Myrna down. What is a synth anyways?"

Piper kept forgetting Blue was not a native. "A synthetic human. Created by the Institute to do their dirty work. Think of a robot, but really realistic."

"The Institute?"

"Commonwealth Boogeyman. Makes people disappear. No one knows anything about them- at least no one who's still alive."

Just then, a loud _bang_ echoed from Publick Occurrences. "Piper" Nat called. "Printer's broke."

Piper leapt up and raced to her livelihood, her elder hot on her heels. "No!"

A cog had slipped tooth and locked half the mechanism into uselessness. Ink dribbled out across the porch. "What are we going to do? Maybe Nick? He can fix a lot of stuff."

"Nick's out doing detective stuff." Nat reminded her.

"Who's Nick?" Blue asked, head cocked.

"Resident private eye. Pretty damn good at it too," Nat cursed carelessly.

"Language," Piper admonished. "Who do we know who can fix this?"

Blue crouched next to the broken cog, head tilted. "I might be able to."

Piper's head whipped to look at the relic of a printer next to the relic of a person. "You can? Really?"

The vault dweller scratched her head. "Might take a couple of days. I'll need the old gear, paper, pen, and Arturo's workbench. And find me a thick piece of scrap metal. Something about the size of the old part."

Piper threw her arms around the younger/older woman. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"OW! Watch the arm, Piper!"

It took her three days, single handedly. Blue kept telling Piper to buzz off but the reporter had a nasty habit of being in other people's business. At one point, Blue had simply said, "Piper, if you don't fuck off for five minutes, not only will I not fix your press but I will clock you upside the head with this" She brandished the half-finished gear, "No matter how much I like you."

After replacing the gear, Blue directed Piper on how to reset the pins and screws. When the machine fired up, it made a new _ca chunk ca chunk_ noise, but otherwise printed. "That'll be the bearings and bushings," Blue advised. "Better find new ones soon, otherwise you'll have no press at all."

Arturo came to look at it. He was so impressed with the work, he offered her a gunsmith apprenticeship on the spot. "Good pay. Solid hours. And you can't beat the benefits of making great weapons for yourself."

Blue had simply smiled. "Thanks Arturo. But I've already got something to do. Maybe someday in the future."

.o.0.o.

During but mostly after her arm healed ( _in quite a rapid time_ , Piper thought), Blue took on more work patching houses, fixing wires and clearing blocked pipes. She cleaned the water filtration system, repaired the DCS intercom and set up a new one to their dugout headquarters. Every night Blue came back to the office, exhausted but looking satisfied whenever she handed Piper the caps she'd earned for the day. "Call it rent. You're still paying off your Home Plate loan, aren't you?"

Piper was, but she wouldn't admit how badly they needed the caps for taxes, facilities, and that damn loan McDonough was so fond of lording over her every month. But she would have let the vault dweller stay for free just because Nat was so happy to poke and prod at Blue's head every night at dinner. "Why did people back then not want guns?" She'd start. "Everyone has one around here."

"Think about it. Before the war, I never saw a single Super Mutant, Ghoul, or Raider, not to mention Deathclaws or any other wonderful fauna we have now. People didn't need to defend themselves as much."

"But what about other people?"

Blue booped her on the head with a finger. "There you go. That was more of a problem, but where I lived crime was extremely low, plus we had military vehicles rolling round all the time. If you had a smaller problem, you could go to the local police station and file a report."

"Like if someone fired a rocket at your house?"

"Never heard of that happening, but if you survived the explosion, sure."

Nat had been utterly delighted to discover there used to be places with funny names, like Kalamazoo and Timbuktu, and somewhere out west (probably near the NCR) was a town called Why.

Blue also helped Nat with her homework, either by being a resource for her essays or involving her in creative ways on how math works. Piper walked in on them one evening sorting bullets after getting groceries. "Are you teaching her multiplication?"

"Texas Hold-Em, actually," Was the dry response, "She's a goddamn prodigy."

"Language," Nat and Piper admonished in unison.

Another time, Piper observed Blue showing Nat how she used the machine lathe. Blue whipped out a pipe rifle barrel for Arturo faster than she'd ever seen before. Nat's eyes were as big as dinner plates when they retired for the night, telling the tale of how Blue had made a single shot target pistol in just three hours. Blue just shrugged. "I pulled from Arturo's junk pile. Now he won't let me go into it."

Blue slept on the couch and by extension, the coffee table. At any given time, a toaster, hot plate, or rifle scope could be found on both and totally disassembled. Blue was constantly modifying her weapons.

When Blue didn't return by evening one night, Piper found her sitting on top of the western wall of Diamond City, staring into the sunset. "Hey you." She said on approach.

Blue didn't so much as turn, but the slight uptick to her mouth belied her stoic posture. "Hey Pipes. Beautiful evening, isn't it?"

The soft rays of dying light were striking Blue's hair so perfectly, it made the dirty blonde locks look like pure gold. Her sapphire eyes had a sparkle to them Piper had never seen before.

She sat next to Blue, legs hanging in space. "Cap for your thoughts?"

Blue leaned back and stretched out her chest. Her bandages were gone, no longer padding the vault suit. "Well, I don't think they're worth that much. There's not much going on up here right now."

"Oh come on. A pristine prewar relic like you? Your gears must be spinning."

Blue pulled a leg off the rampart and put her chin on the knee, tapping her shin. "Hardly pristine. Have you seen my injuries?"

"Duh. Not the point."

"No, I suppose not." Blue mused. "I was thinking, how great it would be to be on the highways again." She pointed to the crumbling concrete and steel superstructure across the cutting across the skyline. "We used to drive on those, usually at around 55 miles an hour when rationing started. But before then, when I was little, you could drive up to 90 MPH."

Piper sucked in a breath. She'd seen a Vertibird fly past _once_ and it was like seeing  
Tesla come to life. Humans weren't supposed to go that fast. "How did you not just drive off the edge?"

"Practice and barriers, mostly. It wasn't unheard of though. Morons and daredevils, launching themselves from eighty feet up."

The last vestiges of sun dipped behind the earth, turning the sky deep purple. Piper chewed on her lip, trying to phrase the question she wanted, and Blue must have noticed because she asked "Something on _your_ mind?

For pursuing a career with English, Piper was incapable of using a brain to mouth filter. Words just tumbled out, "Why do you help us so much? You don't have to. And I know you'll say 'Because I like to help you' or something, but really Blue, why do you help people who couldn't give a molerat's ass about you, or about me?"

Blue stood up, still staring out to the city. "There's a line I know. I guess now it's kind of old, but it still works. 'If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." She turned to look Piper in the eye. Her gaze was steely but her voice was delicate. "If I can't help my son, I'll help you."

"Why me though?"

"Because Piper Wright, you are the best person in the Commonwealth. So is your sister. And with Nat, I can feel like I'm being a bit of a mom again."

Piper's heart went out to the widow. "You _are_ a mom. And a great one, too."

Blue smiled wanly. "C'mon" She motioned back to Publick. "Let's get some rest."

.o.0.o.

"What are you reading?" Piper asked her one morning, at Takahashi's.

Blue looked up from a thin paperback book. " _Coding for Dummies: An intro to Rob++._ Myrna sold it to me. You're always complaining about how your computer won't quit failing when you need it most, so I figured I would try to fix it."

Piper shot Blue a look. "I don't know, I might lose some important stuff on there."

A look of comprehension crossed the woman's face. "Oh yeah, makes sense. Well…" She slapped the top of her Pip-Boy, revealing a spring loaded holotape slot. "Rewrite over this. I don't need it anymore."

"Okay. Thanks!"

Piper loaded the tape into her terminal, and clicked up to the –REWRITE- selection when she saw the name of the disc: _Hi Honey!_

 _I really shouldn't be doing this. It's her history._ Piper thought as she guided the selector to the –PLAY TAPE- option and hit ENTER.

The terminal's small speakers crackled to life. " _Oops, haha. Keep those little fingers away… ah, there we go. Just say it right there, right there, go ahead. Ah, yay! Hi Honey, listen… I don't think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a mother you are, but we're going to anyway. You are kind, and loving, and funny, that's right, and patient. So patient, patience of a saint as your mother used to say."_

Piper put a hand to her mouth. This was Blue's dead husband. It was a complete violation of privacy. And Piper couldn't stop listening.

" _Look with Shaun and us all being home together it's been an amazing year but even so I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure, things we'll need to adjust for. I'm up for head photographer at the Bugle, and your machining program is almost done. But everything we do no matter how hard, we do it for our family. Now say goodbye Shaun. Bye bye, say bye bye."_

The reporter brushed away a tear as the final words faded out.

" _Bye honey, we love you."_

Piper ejected the holotape and returned to Takahashi's. She slid onto the stool next to the Woman Out Of Time, placing the tape next to Blue's notes on coding. "So you listened to it?"

"Yeah, I'm so sorry Blue. I really-"

"Hey, it's all right." Blue put her book down, and looked at Piper with a deep breath. "There's nothing on there I'm not okay with you hearing."

"But to overwrite it? I mean, Blue, this is your history. This is part of you."

Blue's locks flew as she shook her head. Her left eyebrow quirked up. "Not anymore. I don't need a recording to remember them by. Go ahead."

Piper wiped the drive.


	3. Behold a Pale Deathclaw

A/N: Ever notice when your character wears Power Armor, neither the hands nor the feet go into the respective part of the frame? The hands would need some sort of finger-pulley system to actuate the crushing power, because it's not a positive-feedback based loop using human muscles as a base. The character's feet actually stand on individual platforms just above where the armor frame's ankle joint resides, probably to prevent overextension or rolling the person's joint. Something I gave a thought or two to. Oh the things we do to keep ourselves interested at Level 117.

.o.0.o.

"What music do you like?

"More on-the-record stuff for the Publick? You'd think your readers would tire of listening to stories about me." Blue teased.

Piper groaned. "You're insufferable."

"You seem to suffer just fine. I think you actually like it."

"Really Blue. What do you like? I know you like Diamond City Radio, but that's only about two hours of material."

Blue looked up from cleaning her pistol. "Well, I suppose I like the old rock and roll from the 1960s. A bit of that pop from the 1980s. But swing came back in early '73, updated for the 21st century. I really loved dancing to that with Nate."

Oh right, Nate. Piper's heart sank fractionally. Why had it risen to begin with? Blue never brought her dead husband up, Piper often forgot about him. Sort of. "You can dance? Like, for real?"

Blue laughed softly. And melodically. "God, no. Nate led. I just tried to not step on his feet too often. I was head over heels for him, I wasn't really concentrating on dancing,"

"Mmm. How did you meet him?" Piper asked. As much as she disliked (and felt guilty for the dislike of) hearing about Blue's love for her dead husband, Piper wasn't going to stop her. It was probably therapeutic. For her, at least.

"We met in Alaska. Colder than- well, anything. He was an embedded journalist. I had to give him credit, all he really carried was climbing gear, a knife, and his camera. And he went into the same shit we were. And one day I'm defrosting in the mess tent after an op, and he walks over and says, 'You know, I wasn't aware beautiful women were allowed to serve active units.'"

Piper gaped. "He did not. Did you punch him?"

Blue smiled at the memory, "Oh yeah, I knocked him flat on his ass. But as far as come-ons go, Nate's was probably the least sexist I'd heard."

"So how'd you two get together after that?"

"He came to my tent later and apologized directly. He said 'I had no idea how to break the ice with you, and making an Alaska pun just didn't seem to fit. Sorry about embarrassing you, but I really do find you to be the most beautiful woman on the planet.'"

 _He wasn't wrong._ "And then?"

"Well, Nate'd apologized, and it was cold outside, so I invited him into my tent because I kept heated coffee in there. He had a flask of whiskey as part of that same apology sooo…."

"You banged a guy you knocked on his ass less than twelve hours earlier?"

"I _married_ the guy I'd knocked on his ass _six_ hours earlier." Blue corrected. "I mean, we kept in good contact after he went home to Boston, and since my parents lived in the same city, I figured why the hell not. I started going to trade school for work, and after about a year of dating, we got married."

Blue was staring off into a distance Piper knew she would never be able accompany her to. Her heart slid around, near her stomach. "So you were a soldier?"

"Yeah. Joined when I was 19. Fought for eight years, China, Alaskan Reclamation. Decided to retire when I started hearing rumors about units like mine ordered to 'contain' civilians at home."

"They what?"

Blue shook her head. "Listen, Piper, maybe an-"

She stopped so suddenly Piper ran straight into her and bounced right back off. "Jeez Blue, could you make like a tree s'more?"

Blue walked forward, almost trancelike, to the big silver screen. "This was where I had my first real date with him."

Oh, yeah. It was a regular old idyllic trip down memory lane. "We drove in and watched the Thing from the Black Lagoon. It was awful because the effects were so bad, but I got to be with him so it was a great night. We ate popcorn and hung out way past when we were supposed to leave."

She brought a hand to her lips as she sat down on the Starlight Drive In's diner stool. "God, I think I fell in love with him that night. I should have told him sooner." Blue looked to Piper. "You know? Don't ever wait to tell them you love them. Nat, or Nick… or whoever. Take it from the world's leading expert on waiting too long."  
Piper nodded, her heart feeling like lead,"You got it Blue."

"Anyways, let's get to work. I think we can start build this place into an actual settlement." Blue stood up.

Which, of course meant she triggered a pressure release. The pin of a grenade flew upwards and arced over her head, complimented with a "SHIT!" which was the last word Piper registered before she felt hands on her chest and the sensation of falling to the ground.

KA-BOOM!

The grenade rocked her eardrums, and she was momentarily deafened by the compression on her eardrums. She did however feel what Blue had grabbed to save her life.

Her breasts. Oh yeah, that was happening. Piper felt a rush of heat shoot from her face into her stomach, knotting it up so badly she felt like she'd been eating that horrible potted meat stuff. Her mouth felt full of cotton and her ears were full of lead. But her voice echoed back through her jaw into her ear, muted but there. "Uh, Blue, I like you too, but do you mind asking me out first?"

 _Oh God. I didn't mean to say that. Especially not after what she said._

She took a second, spacing out from the explosion. Then her eyes furrowed and Piper lip-read "I can't hear you."

Piper let her chest relax. _Not yet._ She pointed to the hands still holding her boobs (if she was being honest, she enjoyed it) and gave Blue a questioning look. The blonde's face turned blood red and she whipped her hands away, and rolled off of Piper.

"Sorry," Piper saw the mouth form. Why had she never noticed how pink those lips were?

They lay there for a moment, trying to reorient themselves and feeling the aftershocks of the explosion. Except the aftershocks weren't stopping. They were getting louder. And closer.

Piper groaned, feeling her head buzz like she'd just walked by the open reactor door Abbot was working on back in Diamond City. She looked towards the treeline, and immediately wished she hadn't. A pale deathclaw stood in all of its twelve-foot-tall-twenty-foot-long albino scale glory, sniffing the air and staring right at her. Piper blindly reached out for Blue and when her hand made contact. The woman might have said something but Piper's ears were deadened from the blast. And fear. Mostly fear.

The deathclaw let rip a roar unmistakable to anyone even deafened, shaking the broken pavement and shattering the willpower of nearby Commonwealthers. Piper barely had time to stand, not being able to worry about Blue because the lizard seemed to dematerialize and rematerialize at Piper's front, jaws opening to close around her head. The reporter felt her obituary flash before her eyes as if she were at her terminal

 _Piper Wright, died sometime November 2287, ambushed by a Deathclaw like a dolt with a woman who is magnetically- wonderfully- attracted to trouble. She leaves behind Nick Valentine, her only friend, and Nat, her younger sister, and a lot of debt. In lieu of flowers, please send caps to Nat Wright at-_

The entry evaporated because a crowbar appeared in the monster's mouth. Its yellow slit eyes bugged and it gagged, trying to swallow or close its mouth. "Die, motherfucker," Blue proclaimed (still a lot muted) as she aimed her .45 at the beast's head.

The deathclaw was still fast as lightning even if incapacitated. It slashed a wide upwards arc of bonesteel claw into Blue's sternum up to her chin. "No!" Piper screamed, unholstering and sending six 10mm AP slugs through the monster's eye. It fell with an almighty crash, and Blue crumpled against it. Piper flung herself to the woman. Her chest was pooling with blood flowing from her chest, neck and chin. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh my God."

Blue's blue eyes were hazing over in pain. "Oh good," She coughed, "I was worried it was bad."

Piper shook loose her jacket and took off her shirt to bind the injury. "Blue, I've got to stop the bleeding." Piper rolled her to her side and started tearing her pack apart. _I saw her pack it. I saw her pack it._ Piper pulled the duct tape free and mummified Blue's neck in the silver stuff. "You can't die on me now."

Blue smiled weakly, her eyes clouded over entirely. "Don't be stupid. I can't die."


	4. Sanctuary

A/N: Jesus H Christ, I completely forgot about that code stuff. Sorry about that, here's the correct version where you don't want to bleach your eyes while reading.

.o.0.o.

They told her she had done it alone.

Two miles through the northeast Commonwealth.

Past a gunfight, mongrel dogs, an old Red Rocket.

She had carried/dragged the woman out of time to Sanctuary, where she had apparently been greeted after her screams for help were heard by Preston.

They told her she had fought Jun and Sturges as they tried to prevent her from interfering with Preston administering combat aid.

They said she had knocked Jun out with the nastiest right hook in history when he suggested Piper let Blue sleep alone.

They told her this after Piper had awoken in an armchair, next to Blue on a sofa in one of the ruined houses (recently converted into a surgery and field hospital, judging by the walls), with no recollection of the past two days.

Now she sat, pen and notepad in hand, trying to find the words to describe the events of days past. Most of the page was covered by doodles, and a sketch of the woman next to her.

.o.0.o.

Piper was awakened by a soft touch on her shoulder. Evening had fallen, almost making Sanctuary live up to its old name in pink and red glory. Her pencil and pad were scattered on the floor, hat lying alongside them. Blue's hand rested on the twenty six year old reporter, reassuring and calm. "Blue!"

"Piper." Blue's voice was gravelly, twisted and torn to shreds, then put back together in the wrong way.

"How are you feeling? Like shit, duh." Piper's mind raced faster than the freeway cars Blue had described, emotions flaring and her intestines twisting. "Can I help you at all? Grab you a pillow? Water?"

"Piper."

"Or I could clean your guns! For when you're ready again."

"I need you to go home."

Blank shock hit Piper with a concussive force. "What?"

Blue locked eyes with her from the bed and took a deep, rattling breath. "Go home. Be with Nat. I can't- I can't drag you into this. I won't put that on your sister. It's not fair."

Anger replaced shock. "Are you kidding me?! We save each other's lives a couple of times and- and- you're DONE?! What happened to taking on the world? What happened to- I thought you and I were-" Piper stood, forgetting her cap and notepad on the floor, "Screw you! I'm staying where I need to be no matter what! Come get me when you pull your head out of your ass!"

She stormed out, without a particular direction, rage blinding her. It was only when the steel door painted with a yellow _111_ did Piper realize she stood on top of the Vault.

Hundreds of feet below the warm surface a vault of steel and ice lay entombed in earth, from which only one woman had walked out alive. It was a shadowed mausoleum now, frozen in a time so drastically different it made Piper's chest hurt.

Two hundred ten years ago life here was idyllic, peaceful, and most importantly- _life_ , not just survival. Blue had told her the grass and trees were green, the ravens not murderous, the lizards weren't twenty feet tall, and most people could just be who they wanted to, love who they wanted to. The people weren't untrustworthy, but the- what was it Blue called them? Corporations? They were a part of the reason the world went to shit.

A chill crept up her spine, colder than the usual post-apocalypse November chill, and a ten thousand year old voice spoke from the grave, its voice icier than outer space. _We await your arrival._

Piper shivered violently before calling out, "I'm not going anywhere!"

The shadow did not reply, and without running, Piper backed away from the pad. As she approached the old footbridge, she heard shouting. "General! Please! You need rest!"

"C'mon you bat shit crazy woman, leggo!"

Blue had herself entangled between Jun, Preston, and Sturges, who were clearly trying to get the madwoman back to the makeshift infirmary. She spotted Piper, and took a limping run at her, clearly still feeling the injuries of several wounds and the stimpak sticking out of her leg. Piper jerked backwards as Blue took a final leap towards her and wrapped her in a hug, dragging the both of them to the ground from momentum. Blue lay on top of Piper, foreheads pressed together. Piper, wheezed the last of her oxygen and shoved the steel-based woman off to the side.

"I fucked up," Blue rasped, "I want you near me. Please."

Piper looked to her left, somewhere between pissed and amused, "Pull your head out of your ass already?"

" _You're_ my head." She sucked air, "You're my clear thinking,"

Piper felt a warm gooey feeling spread through her, like she'd just binged Takahashi's noodles for an entire evening, crawled under the covers, and started fantasizing about-

 _No._ Piper mentally halted the train of disaster about to follow. "You sure? It seems like you're the sensible one here."

"Oh yeah? Who thought I should stay and rest up, giving me time to teach Nat about life? Who thought I should hang around Diamond City, be a full time resident and good deed-doer? Who wanted me to open my own shop to beat anyone else in the Commonwealth?"

Piper frowned, trying to remember, "Pretty sure that last one wasn't me."

Blue looked towards her, throat bandaged and full of dried blood, hair matted with grass but her eyes were clearer than Piper had ever seen, "Guess that was just me then."

"Are you done being stupid?"

"I don't know if I can promise that."

"Figures. You got a plan now?"

Blue rolled to stand up, and when Piper beat her to the punch by copying and offering a hand, she only hesitated for a second before gripping her wrist to stand. "I've got a better plan."

And she did. Blue stayed in bed for the next week and a half, briefing scavengers on good locations they'd passed, planning defensive fortifications, establishing a supply line to Hangman's Alley and sending traders to the nearby Abernathy Farm to request aid. They refused.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Blue grated, "Most folks are pretty pragmatic. We'll have to pay them a visit later."

Until then, Piper watched as Blue healed, fighting through all of the agony, relearning the use of her limbs. Turned out, when Marcy Long wasn't farming, repairing, complaining, or scavenging, she was actually pretty pragmatic when it came to physical therapy. Her attitude clashed with Blue's unwillingness to compromise.

"You're going to kill yourself if you try that run again." Marcy shouted, as the running shorts clad Blue shot away in a determined hobble sprint to Red Rocket. For as long as Blue could stand it every day ('Smoking', she called it), she would run, do jumping jacks, stretches and calisthenics using junk being brought in. A couple of car wheels served as a bench press, saw horses gave her a balance bar.

For her part, Piper repaired with the other settlers. She learned quite a bit about home repair by screwing it up, and solved by Sturges. Winter had begun to set in, and Sanctuary was going to need good shelter for when the frost set in. More people arrived each week, and with the growing numbers the needs increased. Sturges, thank god, figured out a way to bring heat into the houses by-

"-Rerouting the exhaust pipes of our generators into passageways in the rooms boss. That way the heat won't be wasted."

Blue was out… somewhere… and Preston was in charge. He scratched the stubble on his chin. "Okay. I like it. Start setting it up, and brief the General when she returns from Red Rocket. Hey Piper, do you think you could do a piece on advertising Sanctuary? Might bring more traders up, and we really need that."

"What about unwanted attention?" Piper asked. The possibility of attracting raiders wasn't an impossibility. Some of them could probably read. Maybe.

Preston nodded. "I thought it over. And if they do come, I think we're ready. We've got our turrets, twelve armed and ready, Sturges is fixing that Power Armor, plus the Heap."

The Heap was the affectionate term for the new 'skyscraper' being erected on one of the old (and most stable) concrete house foundations. So far it was four stories of reclaimed wood and corrugated steel, with a topside sniper's post and housed a number of settlers, travelers, and merchants on the second and third floor. The first floor was a restaurant/general goods store, stocked with everything junk or refurbished that could be found or made.

It was called the Heap because Trashcan Carla had once remarked within earshot of _everyone,_ "Good god, what a heap of shit piled together."

And the name stuck.

"By the way, Piper, while she's gone…" Preston steered her to the car port of a boarded up blue house. "I've seen the way you look at her."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be an idiot. Mama Murphy predicted it, too, and while I don't buy into the idea of 'Sight', that woman is scarily accurate when it comes to predicting things that will come to pass."

"I don't-" Piper started, almost stammering, but Preston held up a hand.

"Look," He said in a placating manner, "I can understand why you like her. Hell, some days I think I feel the same way towards her, but if she's going to- be interested in anyone, it'll be you, given time. Lots of time."

Piper took a seat in the diner booth's seat after buying a Nuka-Cola from the bartender Gerald and began to write her piece in her recently rediscovered notepad (it had been hiding under a dresser). And to totally not mull over Preston's words.

 _Sanctuary Hills- the Home of the Minuteman_

 _If there were a word to describe the new and booming town of Sanctuary, it would be peace. Sanctuary lives up to its name- providing refuge for those escaping the ravages of the Wastes. The only tenant is to work hard. By day, there is farming, repairing- and building. All of it under the watchful eye of Minuteman Major Preston Garvey, who himself works in whatever capacity needed. Its current wintertime specialty is boot repair and shoemaking. If you can name it, it can be fixed here. Come springtime and you'll see loads of food coming into places like Diamond City, and escorted by the Minutemen themselves. Tucked into Northwest Boston, if you're looking for a safe, hardworking home for yourself and loved ones- this is the place to be. Just cross the bridge. When you've found happiness, you've found Sanctuary._

By the time Piper looked up from editing her article, she realized the early evening had turned almost nighttime black, and Blue was standing in front of her, wearing her eponymous Vault suit, random armor and holding a shiny new laser rifle stamped with a long string of unintelligible words. "Whoa there Blue. Where's your heading?"

Blue cocked her head. "My heading?"

"Yeah. Where'd you go, and where are you going?"

The woman grinned and slid into the seat across the table. "I found some people who needed my help. They're called the Brotherhood of Steel. And I gave them a hand."

Piper groaned. "Blue, you're barely holding together as it is. Besides, I know the Brotherhood, or at least I've heard about them. They're well oiled, ruthless, and egotistical."

Blue shook her head. "Not these ones," She croaked. Preston's combat medicine could only do so much for destroyed vocal cords. "The main guy, Danse, was uptight enough but he seemed- driven, I guess. He wanted to do what was right."

"Trust me on this, they don't care. At all. I've heard of what they've done in the Capital Wasteland. They took over and pulverized anyone who mildly disagreed with them."

Blue shrugged, then winced at her shoulder. "Yeah maybe but they've got some seriously nice gear. I mean look at this. Who bothers taking the time to stamp Latin- a language which has not become any closer to undead- into a rifle?"

"What did you have to give up in return?"

"Oh you know. The usual military stuff. Happiness, hope, and freedom." She snorted.

" _Blue._ "

The seriousness of Piper's tone surprised herself and the Woman out of Time. Mouth slightly agape, she took Piper's clasped hands. "It's okay. I leave on my terms, whether they want me to or not. For the moment, I'm just helping keep feral ghouls off of their front lawn and synths out of their hair."

Blue must have seen the pained look on Piper's face. "Hey. Hey, it'll be alright. I promise."

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it Blue."

And Blue just smiled.


	5. Tempering the Forged

As much as a sentient Nurse Handy weirded out Piper, she did have to admit the constant professional medical attention was far preferable to the occasional stimpak and duct tape. Blue had discovered the robot inside a secret side of Vault 81 (after saving a young boy's life, of course), and convinced her to join them on their adventure. Two nasty bullet wounds, sewed to surgical perfection had begun to heal nicely under her care. By the end of a few weeks, Piper was sad to see her stay at Sanctuary, even if they desperately needed a doctor. Her accent… Well, she wouldn't lie. It was fucking _hot._ Her innocence and utter displacement was adorable at best, mildly irritating at worst.

As they headed back into the wilderness across the crumbling bridge, Blue startled Piper by saying, "You know, as great as Curie is, I think I prefer you."

"Come again?"

Blue tripped on a log and came up talking. "You know. Just the two of us? I like it better like that."

"We've only had about one experience like the one, and it almost got the both of us killed." Piper pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but I liked most of it."

"And the Deathclaw?"

Blue frowned at the memory. "Well, no."

"And getting shot at?"

"I mean-"

"What about when you told me you didn't want me around anymore and I told you to go fuck yourself?"

Blue huffed, and her cheeks turned red. Good lord, she was adorable when blushing. "I was trying to give you a compliment, dammit."

They headed towards the recent train-station-turned-Minuteman-outpost of Oberland Station. Piper smiled as a December wind cut across her cheeks. "I know. But it's more fun when I torture you for it."

"You're insufferable, Wright."

"I know. So where're we going today?"

"A place called the Slog. According to Preston, there are a bunch of fire maniacs nearby giving them hell."

Piper groaned quietly. "You know Blue, you don't _have_ to take the phrase 'out of the frying pan' quite so exactly."

The refrigerated blonde smiled, "Yes I do. Especially if I need to help people."

 _Dumbass. Why do I like you?_

.o.0.o.

Blue stood at the main terminal of Saugus Ironworks. She was totally engrossed in whatever she was reading, which left Piper free to wander the room and keep an eye out for any remaining Forged. It also allowed Piper to check out Blue, though recently her interest had become more worry-based than lust- based. Which wasn't near to disappearance, her crush was like a persistent pebble in a boot.

On the way to the Slog they had come across Finch Farm, who agreed to support the Minutemen if Piper and Blue would clear out the Ironworks and retrieve Jake Finch, who had apparently gone to negotiate with the Forged. "A steel plant? Oh yeah, that's worth the trip alone. We'll see what we can do, Mrs. Finch."

After a pretty serious and _literal_ firefight, sixteen-ish Forged were down, with no sign of Jake Finch. "Hey Piper, according to the terminal, this place made every kind of iron-based product, high carbon steel plating, black iron sheet, and big castings."

"What on earth does all that mean? And how do you know what it means?"

Blue laughed and stood from the chair she was sitting in. "Black iron is an old name for low carbon plate, cast metal is a bit like pouring water and letting it freeze, you can make it a lot of shapes but they're not too strong unless you really engineer them. And high carbon steel is really strong but hard to work with." She pulled a knife from her boot sheath. "This is high carbon steel. It holds an edge but may snap under too much pressure."

"Oh-kay. I guess I can figure that out. So how do you know all that?"

Blue rubbed the back of her neck reminiscently. "Our neighbor was a blacksmith when I was a kid, and my dad was a metallurgical engineer." Her left eye twitched. "I picked up a couple of things. Point is, with the stuff here, it's possible we could start building new buildings, making better structures. After I figure out concrete. Hell, someday we might be able to make the basics for power armor. The other thing is, I unlocked the door to the crucible."

Piper knitted her eyebrows. "A test?"

Blue looked at her blankly. "You know," Piper elaborated, "A crucible. A test of strength and willpower."

The other woman's eyes gleamed with recognition. "Aaaah. Okay. No, a literal crucible is a casting pot that holds liquid metal." She walked to the door. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Blue grinned that cocky-but-sexy crooked grin, shouldered her assault rifle and kicked the door open.

Of course, they weren't alone. Why would it be that easy?

If it had been hot in the previous side of the shop, this 'crucible' was the ninth circle of hell. There was indeed a pot of molten metal directly in front of them, heat waves distorting the image of a massive raider clad in power armor on an upper gantry, flanked by two well armored Forged. "I want you to kill a certain annoyance- Hold it right there!"

"Take it easy boys, we're not in it for the fight!" Piper shouted.

"This is a sacred ritual for Forged members and initiates! Get out, or we'll kill you!" the Power Armor Forged yelled back.

Piper took notice of the weaponless young man on the floor. "Are you Jake Finch?"

"Yes? How do- My parents, did they send you?"

"Stop talking trespassers, and get out!" Screamed the Forged on the right, apparently a woman, though you couldn't tell by how heavily armored she was.

"Listen to me!" Blue yelled, staring through the sights of her rifle. "We just killed all of your boys out there, so if you want to get out alive, you might want to negotiate."

"You-" The leader started, then stopped to think. _A forethinking raider. Now that's new._ "What do you want!?"

"I want Jake Finch. I want you to leave the Finch Farm alone. And I want to make a business deal."

The leader's two lieutenants grumbled loudly to their boss. "Business? What business?" and "This woman can't possibly be serious. Bullshit."

Blue placed her rifle on the ground, hands outstretched as a sign of peace. The leader lowered his flamethrower, though didn't drop it. "Speak."

"You know of steelmaking?"

He laughed derisively. "We the Forged know all secrets of metal. Fire rolls in our veins, our muscles of iron, our will of titanium. We are invincible!"

"Invincibly and theatrically stupid, more like," Blue muttered. "Great. What about making specific structural components? Do you have a source of iron?"

He glowered at Blue. "This building was half blown apart when we arrived. We rebuilt it from the smelters here, using iron from- Why?"

Blue- was she actually grinning? "Because I'd like to hire you. I'm about to start building a settlement, and I need steel."

The Power Armor Forged considered this. "Perhaps we could speak about this- outside the chamber? And who are you?"

The female Forged cried out, "Slag, these trespassers wish to use the fire as a means of remaking the world in _their_ image! To help them would be heresy!"

"Silence, fool! The fire is here, but it is also everywhere, if we can help it spread. It would be our own benefit."

"Heresy!" She screamed, bringing her pipe rifle to bear.

"NO!" Piper bellowed. Time slowed as adrenaline ripped through her. The sweat coursing down her turned to frozen slush. She heard the crack of the rifle, and at the same time saw Blue make a fast pulling motion under her shoulder. A silver knife flew from her fingertips, reflecting the low lighting in the room, and the blade sang its deady song.

 _Whup-whup-whup THUNK_

The knife sunk into the raider's head, directly above her left eye. Blue already had her right hand holding her .45 pointed to the two remaining. "Now if you want to piss me off, that's the way to do it! I've got ice in _my_ blood and a vengeance in my soul! I've killed countless people and adding two more won't make me sleep a bit less! Who am I, you ask? I'm the Sole Survivor of Vault 111!"

Piper took a step away from the Vault dweller, and in doing so she saw Blue's left hand was holding her side, blood running through her fingers.

The leader, Slag, apparently, had readied his flamethrower but not attacked. Upon hearing Blue's identity, he dropped his flamer. His lieutenant did the same. "We wish to hear your terms. Outside."

Piper and Blue kept their guns trained on the raiders as they exited the room and back into the manager's office. Jake finch stood behind Piper. Slag's heavy footsteps reminded Piper of how dangerous Power Armor was. "Hey, you. Out of the armor."

His dark eyes switched to Blue's face. She nodded in affirmation, gun still in hand. He punched a button on the side of the armor, the pressure release valve. It opened up and he stepped out, revealing an extremely muscular (and shirtless) body, covered in burn scars. "I am sorry we attacked you. Had we known, we would have never thought of it, and welcomed you."

"Why?" Piper asked, naturally suspicious.

"Because this woman survived the nukes of the old world." Slag stated simply. "She has endured more fire than any Forged will ever know. We heard about her on Diamond City Radio."

Blue decided to take that moment to pass out. Just like usual. Her hand was covered in blood.

"She needs a stimpak!" Piper realized, desperately searching for one on her person. Blue didn't have any. She used the last up on Piper after a fight with a mirelurk. She turned to the remaining Forged. "Help us!"

Slag shook his head, scarred face looking almost apologetic. "We only use fire to stop bullets. Sear the wound shut. It's her only chance."

"Are-you-insane?"

"I might be able to help with that." Slag ignored her, pulling a katana from the power armor. With the click of a button, set the blade afire. Before Piper could even begin shouting, Slag stepped forward and jabbed the flat of blade onto Blue's side. Blue's eyes shot open and rolled backwards, while her back arched and every tendon in her body tensed. Piper lunged at Slag. She knocked the blade from his hands, and began pummeling the Forged. "You-stupid-mother-fucker-why-"

Jake Finch grabbed her torso and pulled her back. "Get _off_ of me you son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill-"

"Look!"

Piper swung her head around. Blue was no longer pulsing blood in tune with her heartbeat. She didn't look comfortable, but she was stable. Piper shoved Jake's arms off of her, and rushed to the unconscious woman to cradle her head. "God dammit Blue."

Jake was edging towards the door, eyes flickering toward Slag and his remaining crewmember. "Uh, miss, if you could meet me back at my family's farm, that'd be nice, I think. Otherwise… I'm just gonna, uh… go…"

He dashed out. _Coward._

Slag took a seat on a semi ruined couch. "We must wait to see if she wakes."

Piper growled but didn't say anything.

.o.0.o.

Piper woke up hours later, lying against a desk. Cryopod Woman was nowhere to be seen. "Blue!" She screamed, jumping to her feet.

"Piper!" came the responding cry. Piper saw the blonde woman running across an upper catwalk and crash into her arms. Piper reveled in the way her hair smelled, sweat, steel, gunpowder and something sweet she couldn't figure out. "I'm so glad you're awake. We have some stories."

Blue joined the Forged. Sort of. As an honored (but honorary) member, she and her companions would not be torched on sight, and she had opened up trade agreements between her settlements and the Ironworks. For a small sum of just three thousand caps, one third paid now and the rest on delivery, the Forged would begin producing basic metal prefabrications for the settlements. Starting with the Slog.

They said their goodbyes to all the Forged (many of whom had been hiding in the depths of the furnaces). The shock from furnace heat to winter chill stopped the partners in crime momentarily, then they headed down to Finch Farm to return the incendiary sword ( _seriously, who thinks of making that?_ ) _._ It was also by lucky coincidence they gained support for the Minutemen, and the Finch's gratitude. In the evening they went back up to The Slog, informed the ghoul residents of their success and incoming shipment.

"You mean we're going to let them in? Voluntarily? Are you nuts?" Wiseman asked, his sloughed skin compressing as his eyes widened.

"Yes. Should be here in two weeks. Please, stay on alert. Just in case. Give them these caps, and maybe throw in a couple tarberries as goodwill. Just- well, I need this to work out." Blue bowed her head, in sadness and to study the crude map of the Slog Piper had drawn in chalk, "Put the walls to the north and east especially, space the pylons no more than six feet apart."

Wiseman frowned. "What's six feet?"

Blue looked to the ghoul. "Do you not know how to measure?"

The man shrugged. "Never really all that important when it came to not getting shot, in my experience."

She considered this for a moment, then flashed a smile. "Yeah, that makes sense. Just go with your wingspan then, if you stretched out your arms. That'll be about six feet."

"Good deal, even if I am worried about those firebombing maniacs. By the way, you guys are welcome to some of our beds tonight, we've got some spares, but we're out of blankets."

They did have spare beds, or bed rather. The mattresses were so close together in the small room they may as well have been one. There was one thin blanket. Piper guessed it was all the ghouls could give, and her heart went to them.

"Well," Blue said as she stripped off her armor. "This looks positively inviting."

"Hey now."

Blue eyes met brown. "Oh, I really didn't mean it like that. I just don't like being cold. Kind of got turned off to it back in the old days."

Piper's heart beat a little faster as she shrugged out of her jacket, was she actually going to suggest it? "We can sleep under this. It's got a little extra lining."

The blonde looked at her dubiously. "Are you kidding?"

Piper hoped she wasn't blushing, "No. C'mon, it'll be fine. We can also use that bomber jacket you've got on."

Unexpectedly, Blue wrapped the leather around her tighter. "I, uh. It's kind of a family heirloom. The only one I have left."

Piper dropped her signature trench coat on the bed. "Go on."

"Nate- my, well, you know- his great-great-grandfather served in World War II. He rescued this crew when their B-29 went down in the Pacific, near his island. The pilot gave it to him in thanks, and… Three hundred forty- two? Years later, I've got it."

"Oh! Well, never mind then." Piper flapped her hands, "No need to break tradition or anything on account of my comfort. I mean, it's cool. You do you, Blue."

Blue looked like she was struggling with something, and then removed the jacket. "You're right. It'll be better with it off. Let's get some sleep."

Oh those curves really did fill in that jumpsuit. When Piper laid next to her, she curled instinctively and realized she was spooning the Vault dweller perfectly. "Sorry I'll just get-"

"No, don't," Blue's croaks were muffled, "I like it. Feels nice."

Piper froze. _Great, now I'm never going to sleep. Why does her hair smell like oil? And why do I like it?_

.o.0.o.

"We're headed to Vault 114. Ellie told me that was where Nick was headed, to find someone's daughter. Know anything about it?"

Piper shook her head and pulled her scarf tighter. "It's a vault. Probably some kind of nasties in there, especially if Nick went searching for something. He never seems to look for trouble, it just arrives whenever he makes progress."

Blue looked at her. "You two work together a lot?"

"Well our lines of work do intersect a bit. I give him leads, he gives me the scoop, that kind of thing. Besides, he's always been willing to keep an eye on Nat whenever I wasn't around, so that helped."

Blue smiled. "Sounds like a stand-up guy. I'm excited to meet him. C'mon. I'll race you downtown."

Blue took off running. Damn, even in full armor she was fast. "Hey! I don't know where we're going!" Piper shouted after the disappearing figure. She cursed, and started running after her. _Just don't think about last night._


	6. Be My Valentine?

A/N: How does nick smoke? He doesn't have lungs, so does he have an impeller and a storage chamber? Is it a piston type system like an air compressor? Turbine? It's things like this that keep me up at night. Also bad habits. Like Battlestar Galactica, and finishing fanfics.

"So you're Nick Valentine."

"And you sound surprised. Didn't expect a synth?" Valentine replied, tossing away the remainder of his cigarette.

"Not really, no. Piper made it sound like you were human."

Piper shot Blue a look. "You never asked."

The blonde shrugged. "I mean, I've never met a synth up close and personal before so all I'm going on is Piper's word. If she thinks you're great, that's more than enough for me."

"Glad to hear it. As nice as this reverse damsel-in-distress scenario is, I wouldn't mind getting out of here, how about you?"

"Lead the way, Nick."

He jogged to an atrium, servos and circuits whirring, glowing, or leaking oil. "Skinny caught me two weeks ago. Couldn't make up his mind on whether to kill me or let me go, so he compromised and stuck me in that office. Incoming!"

Three triggermen entered the atrium, and were met by an improvised baseball grenade. "Nice throw, Blue."

An artificial eyebrow quirked. "Blue."

"It's Piper's name for me." Blue explained absently, picking her way through the gore for weapons and ammo.

"Only because you won't tell anyone your real name."

"Heads up!"

Two triggermen rounded the corner and were cut down by Piper's 10mm and Nick's .44.

"Blue, pay attention!" Piper shouted to the woman, just as she raised her Colt and blew a round past Piper's ear into the head of another gangster.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?"

Nick approximated an eyeroll. "C'mon, the exit's up these stairs." He paused for a minute. "If I ever find the fitness instructor who designed this place, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind."

Blue looked towards Nick with a mechanical gleam in her eye. "Do synths get tired?"

"That's not the point."

They found themselves at the mouth of the vault, guarded by two triggermen, a very fat man in a tux, and a woman wielding a swatter. "Nicky, dammit, I needed you to stay in your room."

"It was getting a little stuffy in there, Skinny. Your woman Darla knocked me pretty good, too." Valentine replied.

"Aww, poor little Valentine," The woman sneered, "Ashamed you got beat up by a girl? I'll just run home to daddy, shall I?"

"This ain't the old days Nicky." Skinny said, "In here, I'm king of the castle!"

"I told you we should have just killed him! But you went and got all sentimental. Who gives a crap about the old days? Any who are these two? More muscle to snuff us out?" Darla screeched.

Blue holstered her pistol and raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Darla, you need to leave. You have a life outside, a family, a home. Don't give those things up for this mess."

Darla hesitated, then dropped her swatter. "Okay. You're right, I've gotten all mixed up!" She turned and fled.

"No! Dammit Nick, you come into my house, kill my men, put bad ideas into the head of my girl? What's next?"

"You owe me for weeks in the hole. And without that leech on your ear, maybe you'll listen to reason and let me walk."

"You smug overconfident jackass! Gah! Alright, you have to the count of ten. If I see your faces after that, I'm gunning the whole lot of you down."

"Let's go!" Nick started running, Piper and Blue hot on his tail. They sprinted through the caverns and twists of the subway station. Piper felt her chest heave. All this running may be good for her health, but the side effects were totally not worth the effort.

Piper grabbed the cold metal ladder to resurface in Boston's Back Bay, joining Blue and Nick, "Wow, look at that Commonwealth sky. Never thought something so naturally ominous could look so inviting." He turned to Blue. "You mentioned something about your son? I'd like you to come back to the office so we can sit down and talk about it."

Blue nodded, "Alright. I need to make a stopover at Hangman's Alley first. We'll meet you back in Diamond City."

"Actually, I'm going to stay in Diamond City. Got articles to write and caps to make." Piper interjected.

"Sure thing. But Hangman's Alley? Why there? It's full of raiders."

"Hopefully not anymore because I cleared it out, but it was a while ago since I've been there."

Nick nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. Well, best of luck. See you back in Diamond City."

Blue shook his hand, metal on flesh, and the partners in crime departed for the Alley, picking their way next to the Charles, avoiding most gunfights and exchanging only the barest of pleasantry bullets before running.

Blue stopped, a couple yards from Hangman's, and Piper could smell why. Burned flesh was very distinctive, and crows and vultures had begun circling. "Oh no," Blue whispered when they entered.

Blue's hard work had gone to shit. The shacks were turned to ash, anything mechanical had been destroyed, the radio beacon promising safety and shelter was on the ground, bent, twisted, the crystal circuitry shattered beyond repair. Worst of all was the six settlers' remains, tied to stakes. Burned alive, and their remains feasted upon by birds. As if to add insult to injury, the December Commonwealth sky began raining a slurry of depressing ice and water. Blue mechanically pulled her pistol out, and shot birds until her pistol started clicking.

Piper didn't bother. She knew she wasn't a crack shot to hit flying targets. "Blue. We need to bury them. Give them some sort of peace."

The gunfire had drawn someone's attention. A very, very drunk raider stumbled out of his hidey hole and loosely aimed his weapon. Blue, however, was too talented, too enraged to be outdone. She crossed the distance in what seemed like a snap, and body slammed the man to the ground, her knife digging into his throat and drawing blood. Piper's own boiled. This was one of the men who killed these innocent people. She ran to join her friend, and added her own pistol to his head, while keeping an eye out for more raiders. "Still here, huh?"

Blue had surpassed the yelling point. "What group takes responsibility for this?"

Drunk guy laughed. "Eeehee, knife-y. pointy, ow."

She dug the blade in harder and moved very, very close, "I'm going to ask this one more time. Who did this?"

The drunkard made the last mistake of his life. He tried to kiss Blue.

A slight _schlick_ was made and the man's neck collapsed at an unnatural angle… but was still breathing. Blue stared at her handiwork for a moment, before saying, "Piper, I need you to bury them. I'm going to attend to this piece of trash."

A cold feeling set in. She stood back on top of Vault 111's entrance. _We await you._ "What are you planning Blue?"

"To find the truth." Blue said coldly, while examining several thin rods of steel.

"Blue, what are you going to do?"

"Don't call me that. I'm not- not when I do this."

" _What_?"

"Look away Piper." And the blonde woman jammed three spikes below the raider's fingernails, then two stimpaks into his neck in quick succession. She grabbed the man's jaw, "Who sent you!"

Piper almost felt pity, but mostly she wanted to throw up even more. Scared back awake, the raider's eyes jerked open just in time to see Blue's fist land a very solid blow across his cheek. "I said, "WHO SENT YOU?"

"No-no one!" He whimpered. Blue sunk her combat knife into his thigh. "Try again!"

"Aaaugh! I dun'know! I dun'know!" He slurred.

Blue pulled her knife out and slammed it up another finger, ripping half of it apart. "One more try!"

Piper doubled over, and threw up. The scent, the man, but most of all Blue-or whatever she was- _torturing_ someone was too much. "Blue, stop!"

"Corvega! Corvega! We came from Corvega! I don't know who-" And was stopped when her knife found its final resting place in the base of his neck.

Blue pulled her knife free, wiped it on the dead man's clothes, and stood. She was breathing hard and unsteadily. "I'm sorry Piper."

Piper was still dry heaving on the ground, _fuck me, what is with this woman?_ "Blue… What you did was justified, but, ugh, it wasn't the right thing to do… If you act like a raider, you'll be no better than one."  
"And if I do it for innocent people who were murdered?"

"The road to hell…"

"…Is paved with good intentions. Piper, I've been to the gates of hell, more than once. This doesn't scare me."

Piper grabbed Blue's blood slicked hand. "No, but _you_ scare me. I mean, you're fine one minute around me, and the next you're on a rampage. There needs to be a middle ground."

Blue slid her hand out of Piper's grasp. "Thoughts?"

"No torture. Even when justified. Don't be like a raider."

Blue cocked an eye, "That it?"

"Please try." Piper pleaded. And Blue agreed.

They traveled to Diamond City in the most fashionable form of travel for the time, picking their way through rubble, avoiding most firefights. Piper blinked, and suddenly she was hugging Blue goodbye, holding the vault dweller so she wouldn't forget. _Smells like gun oil and lavender. Where do you even get lavender anymore?_ Piper forced a smile, "Good luck. And don't leave me waiting, yeah?"

Blue double tucked her blonde locks behind her ears, "Yeah. I promise." She walked away towards Valentine's office, then slowed. The woman spun, "Come with me!"

Piper started, "What?"

"Come with me, Piper! You're my clear thinking. Besides, do you really want to miss out on the story of the century? Loans can wait."

Piper bit her lip, torn between her duty to keeping the house in order… or adventuring with this woman. _Never gone wrong with Nick… scratch that, it's gone wrong plenty of times but we always got out of it._

"Go, Piper," A voice said from behind her. Piper spun to see Nat, squinting in the evening lights, "It'll be cathartic for you, I think,"

"I- Nat, are you sure?"

The fourteen year old nodded, "Yep, I'll be fine. I've got a few caps I can distract the mayor with, if I need to. Come back and see."

Piper drew her sister into a hug, pressing a kiss on her head. "Okay. We'll be back before you know it,"

Piper blinked again, and Blue was halfway through recounting her son's kidnapping, and Piper only had a few shorthand notes. _It's been a long day. Maybe I'll go back to the house and crawl into bed. Maybe Blue would want to join-_

Piper mentally blocked herself before that train of thought went further, and tuned back in to the conversation. Nick was smoking, Ellie was taking notes, and Blue had her head in her hands. "Blue? You can take all the time you need."

She shook her head and cleared her eyes. "No, I need to get through this. Um, anyways, the bald one carried a big .44 revolver, and I think- yeah I think he had a scar over one of his eyes."

Piper raised an eyebrow, "Nick, could that be-"

The synth put out his cig on his boot heel. "Kellogg? You read my mind." He turned to Blue, "There was a Diamond City resident a few years back that matches that description. Ellie, what do we have on the man?"

The assistant shuffled through her papers, hair coming free of its band. "Conrad Kellogg: Last seen one year, six months ago as a resident here in Diamond City. Known to take dangerous mercenary work, employer unknown."

 _Oh shit- there was a kid too._ "Nick, wasn't there a boy with him? I can't remember."

Valentine nodded. "There was. Thirteen-ish. Didn't see him too often."

Blue let out a sob. "Another kidnapping?"

"Well it could be your son. You had no knowledge of the passage of time while you were on ice. Ten, twelve years could have passed without you knowing." Ellie pointed out, sympathetically.

Blue's head lolled backwards on the chair. "What am I going to do?"

"Tonight, you are going to get some sleep. We'll head out in the morning and- She's already asleep."

Blue's head had never returned upwards. Eyes shut, hair in a molerat's nest and snoring oh-so-softly, she looked adorable. Ellie snorted "That sounds like a great idea,"

Nick huffed a laugh, "I sometimes forget you humans don't need nightly diagnostics, you just like to go unconscious for a while." He gathered her up. "She can take my bed."

"Why do you have a bed if you don't sleep?" Piper queried.

"Sometimes I like to think about cases lying down. I think it helps the coolant flow better."

After depositing the Woman Out of Time to her borrowed quarters, Nick steered Publick's intrepid reporter back to the very chair Blue had just vacated. "So, Piper," he lit a cigarette, and offered one to her, "How badly in love are you?"

Piper's thumb froze on her Nuka-Cola lighter's sparkwheel, cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. _Oh shit._ "What was that? Sounds like you've got a couple screws loose up there."

Valentine raised a facsimile eyebrow. "I'd like to think I know you well enough to understand that set of emotions. So. How bad is it?"

"Not great," Piper mumbled into her hands, "I really, really like her Nick. And I'm worried I'm gonna screw this up"

` "Nah, that can't happen. The last time you went on a date it was great, right?"

"You mean the time I was poisoned and puked on Scarlett?" Piper said miserably.

"And she was… oh yeah, that was bad. But, that's not an indicator for the future, the way you two are together."

Piper looked to Nick with a desperate gleam in her eye, "Nick, I screw up everything I touch, this woman is probably the best thing to willingly stay in my life,"

"That alone should tell you something," he let the smoke loose and it poured out from his broken plastic skin, plus a little from his mouth, "Besides, Nat's not screwed up at all."

"Are you kidding? She's starting to look like she'll ending up just like me. It's horrible."

Nick took a deep breath, "Piper, please relax. If anything, there need to be more people like you in the world. If Blue hadn't been around, would you have come for me in the vault?"

 _Ah shit,_ "Actually Nick, I was so preoccupied here I didn't really notice you were missing. You left right before she got here… but if I had known…"

Nick shrugged, "I think if you had known, you would have come. And not many people would do that, especially for a synth,"

"Hey!" Piper said angrily, "You are people! You're better than a lot of people I know."

Nick bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, "Thanks Piper. Look, get some sleep. I need to run some self-diagnostics anyways."

"Okay. We can start searching bright and early tomorrow."

.o.0.o.

They tracked Kellogg using Dogmeat. His keen senses (something Blue attributed to his being a German shepherd. Whatever a German was.) allowed them to track Kellogg to Fort Hagen, where they blew through dozens of skeletal synths, trying their best to ignore the taunting disembodied voice above. "Good thing we're not going to run out of ammo," Nick noted as Blue looted another corpse for its fusion cells for her Brotherhood rifle.

"Bingo. Hey Nick, do you recognize anyone? A cousin or uncle maybe?"

"You're really a smartass, you know that?"

Blue smirked, "I've been told,"

They punched their way through a final door when Kellogg spoke again. "Okay. You made it. I'm just up ahead. I'll tell my synths to stand down. Let's talk."

A security door clicked open. "Blue are you sure…?"

The cryo-dweller reloaded magazines for her sidearm. She was trembling, and Piper reached out a hand for stability. "I can do this. I have to. We've come this far."

"We've got your back, no matter what." Nick emphasized.

Blue took a breath, and led the way up some stairs, and through a short hallway. Another security door opened, and lights flickered on. _Dramatic bastard._ He stepped forward, Magnum in one hand and both of them raised. "And there she is. The most resilient person in the Commonwealth. Funny, I thought I had that honor. Let's… talk."

Kellogg looked about as close as Piper could remember. The scar on his face looked like it was still a week old, and that persistent stubble remained. The cold eyes had a spark of humor in them, though. Piper kept her pistol trained on one synth, and Nick tracked the other with his snubnose.

"Where's my son? Where's Shaun?" Blue asked desperately. Her rifle was in hand, but it hung loosely from her fingertips.

"Hah. Pal, I'm just a puppet like you. My stage is a little bigger, that's all. Shaun's a good kid. Bit older than expected, but you probably figured that. He's safe… only, he's not here. He's with the people pulling the strings."

The fingers tightened, "Goddammit you mercenary motherfucker. Where. Is. My. Son!?"

"What's the cliché? So close, yet so far away? That's Shaun. But don't worry," The eyes gleamed, "You'll die knowing he's safe and happy. Bit older than expected, but ah well, he's in a loving home. The Institute."

The shoulders of Piper's crush tensed, and Piper knew it was coming. "How do I get there? Where is the Institute?"

"Haven't you been listening?" The merc with a mouth asked sardonically, "You don't find the Institute. The Institute finds you. You open the closet, it's just a closet. The monster that hides inside isn't seen until it jumps out at you. You know, I kind of admire you. You act the way a parent should for their child."

He flexed his hands, "But I think we've been talking long enough. We both- we all know how this has to end. So… you ready?"

The hum of the standby laser weaponry seemed deafening now. Blue inhaled, and unconsciously Piper mirrored her, tasting the musky scent of damp paper of a two century old intelligence center. "The real question here, Kellogg, is 'are you?'"

Faster than Piper thought possible, Blue fired her weapon, but her opponent had already disappeared. Invisible. "I've got him! I can see him on infrared!" Nick shouted.

A laser arced past her ear, singing Piper's hair. _Shit, I forgot about that synth._ The reporter fired back, emptying her pistol as she took cover behind a set of terminals. _Good thing they built these so solid,_ she thought as laser bolts burned the wood and plastic. She pulled a grenade and rolled it back to where she hoped the synth was standing.

The resulting explosion threw the office desks aside and Piper out of her hiding spot. She rolled to recover and saw Valentine grappling with an invisible opponent, giving and taking slugs to each other. On the far end of the room Blue was using her highly technological and advanced laser rifle as a can opener, by beating the synth into scrap metal. Piper shook off the shockwaves, and slotted a new magazine into her gun.

The mercenary became visible. Nick yelled, "Aha! There's your ugly mug!" and decked him across the face hard enough to hear a _crack_ from the detective's hand. It didn't matter. Kellogg, midway through stumbling had already reloaded his revolver and began shooting at the trio. Piper popped off a couple rounds before ducking. _They hit. They had to hit. I'm not that bad of a shot._

"No!" came a scream. Piper jumped back up, gun leveled at whatever threat was-

Blue had an electrical cord around the merc's neck and was pulling with all of her strength. Piper emptied her clip into the flailing legs, and Valentine did the same, but he broke free and slashed a wide arc of steel impossibly fast up towards Blue's head. A flash of Brotherhood and Blue parried the Bowie knife with her rifle. Piper pulled out the hit of Jet she kept for emergency trading, or just emergencies. This qualified. _Forgive me, Nat._ And she inhaled, depressing the plunger.

 _Oh YEAH! WOOO!_ Piper felt unstoppable. The whole world was on its knees before her, tinged blue. Kellogg was in slow motion, and aiming at his throat was the easiest thing she'd ever done. She squeezed ever so slowly. The gun coughed, kicked the slide back and ejected a shell. The reporter kept steady. _It's always about follow through._

The world returned to normal as Kellogg's head snapped backwards from the impact and Blue took the opening to slam her fist into his windpipe. His eyes bugged out, and he fell backwards finally dead.

"Jeez, he certainly wasn't easy to take down." Valentine rubbed his hand. A new fissure had formed on his framework. "Certainly got the fluids pumping on that one. You hurt?" As Blue limped forward.

"I think one of your guys' shots clipped me. Not that I'm too mad. Taking out the legs, always a viable option." She turned to Piper. "Nice neck shot. That was you, right?"

"Yeah. Thank the Jet. Slows the world down so I could get a better aim. Now, let's take a closer look at our host."

Kellogg, sans one larynx was propped up on a table. Blue considered it, then handed the brutish pistol to Valentine. "Don't know if it's your style, but at least you have ammo for it."

"Definitely not my style, but it would be ironic to use the Institute's gun for good. And _that_ is definitely my style." Nick joked, accepting the Magnum and loading a fresh set of bullets in.

"I'm going to take his jacket and armor too," Blue announced, "Look at this- most of our bullets were stopped by the material. I've got to find out if we can replicate it."

Piper aided Blue in removing the clothing. Long scars ran on both sides of Kellogg's arms, spiderwebbing from across his hands, up his shoulders and back then met a single scar running the length of his spine. "Yikes. What kind of torture causes that?"

"Surgery." Blue pointed to the near-invisible puncture marks of a needle and thread following each blemish. A framework of metal ran along his limbs, making him look like a robot. Each one had intricate circuitry wired to the back of…

"Kellogg, you are one confusing bastard. Barely even human. Shame he wouldn't tell us the location, it's all in his head now. Hmmm…"

"Alright Nicky. What half-baked idea are you thinking of now?" Piper jabbed him with an elbow.

"It's in his head, right? There's a doctor in Goodneighbor who can do memory restorations. Amari. She might be able to help us… What's that?"

"I have no idea, Nick." The trio stared at a hunk of sophisticated metal implanted in the back dead man's head, wiring snaking to the limb robot-things. "Well," Blue started, "If your doctor friend is going to need his brain, I guess we ought to make him easier to carry."

She arced Kellogg's knife through his neck, sawing through the spine. _Oh, Jesus._ Piper threw up, and Nick had a distasteful look on his face. "Do you always pick the bloodiest option?"

"Only when it comes to my steak and my husband's murderer." Blue rolled the head into a duffel bag, and Piper almost threw up again. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

They took the elevator to the surface and opened the final doors to see a nighttime Commonwealth sky. "What was it you said before, Nick? Naturally ominous?"

"Not so natural anymore." He pointed. An airship of steel lit up like Diamond City itself flew across the darkness, blocking out stars and the moon. " **PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH, DO NOT INTERFERE. OUR INTENTIONS ARE PEACEFUL. WE ARE THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL.** "

"Holy shit. Look at that mother." Blue's jaw was practically on the ground. "Talk about a big stick, huh?"

"No kidding, Blue. I told you, the Brotherhood doesn't mess around."

"Good golly, miss molly. Do you think a Fat Man could even take that out?"

"I have no idea. One thing at a time, guys." Nick interceded, "We need to see Amari."

Piper's bones ached and her muscles creaked in protest. "No offense to those of us without circadian rhythms, but I could really use some sleep."

Blue rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. It's six am, and we've been running and fighting for the last six hours. I'm actually okay with going right back inside and crashing for a while. Nick, do you mind taking first watch?"

"I don't need sleep, remember? How about you two Musketeers take all the rest you need, I'll keep my eyes open for ne'er do-wells."

Piper felt her eyes close and then strong hands wrap around her waist as gravity took hold. A rumbling laughed echoed through the woman she was leaning against. "Thanks, Nick."


	7. Piper Wright, Diamond City Reporter

"You want me to do what with _what_?" Amari exclaimed.

"Come on doc, it's not much of a stretch. He's just a little dead, is all." Nick wheedled.

"I can't do anything with a decapitated- wait- what is that?"

"We don't know. Kind of reminds me of Nick, though." Blue said.

"Yes," Amari wondered, "The architecture is remarkably similar. "I recognize this! This connects to the pons. And this to the medulla. If I connect it- We could connect it to Nick. The architecture might be close enough to foster a relationship."

"Alright. Let's do it." Nick stood up, dusting his hands.

"Whoa whoa whoa Nick. Are you sure? This- whatever this is might damage you." Piper warned.

"Ah, that's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll be honest, this is probably the weirdest thing I've ever done, but it's for good cause. Let's do it, Amari."

"Okay, if you'll just sit here… and if I connect this to here, this to that, ew, socket there… How do you feel? See anything? Remember anything?"

"Nope. Nada. You sure this will work?"

"No, you dolt! I'm not sure about any of this! If one mind can't handle it… Perhaps two can. I can use Nick's brain as a computer and a memory lounger to interpret. Miss? Can you try?"

Piper thought she looked more scared than when they faced Kellogg. "Hey," she murmured, "You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do. I absolutely have to. Finding my son… It's all I can think about." She took a deep breath in and reached for Piper's hand. The contact was electric. "I have to."

Blue clambered into the Memory Pod, and a pneumatic hiss was heard as the pod closed. She gave Piper a thumbs-up, settled into the seat, and then closed her eyes. "Beginning transfer now. Three, two, one."

Piper darted around to the lounger's screen and stared without stopping. She saw Kellogg as a boy, then a man, then a father, then as a mercenary. The black and white screen showed his view as he shot Nate and taunted Blue. There was no sound. Blue's eyes were screwed tight, and she was twitching trying to fight the memory. "Oh, god," Piper whispered in horror.

"Hang in there! I'm trying to find a better memory. All of these are encoded! Damn you, Institute bastards. There!" Amari cried.

A flash of light, with a new man stepping into view. A young boy sat off to the side. "So that's how they do it. Teleportation. Well, it certainly explains how they get in and out without detection. Okay, as soon as you're ready you can exit the simulation."

Not even a second passed before Amari stopped talking and the Dweller was shoving her way out of the pod. A sheen covered most of her skin, and her hair was soaked in sweat. She numbly dropped into a seat. The woman, so powerful when standing and an unstoppable force against bad guys, was reduced to a rubbery, trembling pile of tears when confronted by a memory. Piper knelt next to Blue, and draped an arm around her shoulder. She was acutely aware of the action, but the reporter kissed Blue's temple anyways, "We're going to find him,"

Blue sobbed. "He- He's ten, Piper. Maybe older. I've lost so much time with him. I can't be a mother-"

" _Stop._ You're still a mom even if he's old and has kids." Piper reinforced.

Blue sat there for quite a while, making it uncomfortable enough that Nick and Amari went upstairs. When Blue finally stood, the tear tracks had dried and she stood on her own, she said, "Thank you, Piper."

"Always, Blue."

.o.0.o.

"Brian Virgil, huh? Can't say I've heard of any escaped Institute scientists. First time for everything. Guess there's only one place you're headed, then." Nick mused.

Blue rewound her leg injury. "The Glowing Sea."

"Yep. Thing is, it's so full of radiation so you'd need a full hazmat suit to even survive the air down there."

"Don't forget the entire area is trying to kill you. It's a breeding ground for radscorps, flies, and deathclaws." Piper added.

"That's true," Nick agreed, "So what have you got up your sleeve for our road ahead?"

Blue breathed in deeply, "A suit of Power Armor. T-45."

"Holy- you have armor! Blue! You've been holding out on me. Nat's gonna flip when she sees it." Piper said happily.

"I'm not coming back to Diamond City." Blue's fingers twitched, as if wanting to leap out of their skin. "Nick and I will drop you off, and then we're headed north to Sanctuary. It'll need some work."

"Oh come on. You can't try to leave me behind this time! Don't give me that safety shit." Piper shot angrily.

The Dweller shook her head with a small, pained smile. "It's not about safety, Red. It's logic. I only have the one suit, and I'm pretty sure Nick is rad-resistant-" She shot a confirmation look to the synth, who nodded, "And you need to get back to the paper. You've got your life to attend to."

Piper grumbled. Rent _was_ nearly due, and selling the story would greatly help with their income. But it didn't help that she felt like her place was by Blue's side. "Fine. Let's head out tomorrow. Anybody got a cap for the Rexford?"

.o.0.o.

Piper hugged Blue as tight as she could in Diamond City's afternoon sun. "Come back soon, okay? And stay out of trouble?"

"I promise, Pipes," Her eyebrow twitched and Piper suddenly realized what it meant, "Oh come on. _That's_ your tell?"

"What?"

"Your eyebrow. It jumps when you lie." Piper accused.

Blue smiled ruefully, and rubbed the offending bisected brow, "Can't keep anything from you now can I, Wright?" She kissed Piper's flushing brow, "Say hello to Nat for me. I don't know when I'll be back."

.o.0.o.

The pillar listed to the south, chunks of it blown off by kinetic, plasma, and laser fire. The walls that had once been unwavering to previous attacks had been ripped to shreds of metal, concrete, and rubber. Seared flesh permeated the air with the smoke rolling off the burning bodies. Kessler sat chain smoking cigarettes as fast as the paper would burn. There were dark lines under her eyes, and she had a stare into a distance Piper couldn't see. "Don't get me wrong, Wright, it's nice to see you and all. I just- I- well, I don't know. I can't phrase it."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Piper asked, pencil twitching, "It's for the paper, but honestly I think you could just use some talk therapy."

Kessler rubbed soot on her forehead with her cigarette-laden palm, singing her hair in the process. "Evening. All's well as it usually was, traders were good, Weathers was being a dick, and Cricket kept trying to kill people. Things are starting to wind down. Out of nowhere, four Vertibirds start dropping Brotherhood of Steel, and one starts asking me if I know anything about gen-3's in Bunker Hill. Before I can answer, he gets a hole in his chest and hits the deck. Fuckin' Innie synths are coming out of nowhere, like rats in a flash flood."

Ash dropped off her tip, "Everyone's shooting. Then these people wearing- get this- lead plates and leather aprons using those gauss rifles- ever see one? They can knock out power armor, so the Brotherhood had a hell of a time. Everyone's shooting at each other, Security's trying to shoot back, the second biggest clusterfuck I have ever seen."

"Then the Minutemen showed up. It's black as hell, can't see shit, and all I hear is 'Commonwealth Minutemen' and it just made everything worse. Plasma, lasers, bullets, damned artillery shells, explosives. Best I could do was find cover and shoot at anyone who came close."

Kessler flicked the butt away and pulled another cigarette from the smushed pack, offering one to Piper. She lit it with her Nuka-Cola lighter. "What happened after that?"

"Not really sure. Brotherhood went down for sure, about ten of those weird Railroad jag-offs, and a dozen Minutemen. Half my people died, too. Fifty total, I think. We keep pulling bodies from below, in this basement I didn't know existed."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "You run this place, and you didn't know about it? I'm calling bullshit."

Kessler shrugged and took another drag. "Not my issue, know what I mean? I've tried keeping people safe, but honestly Wright? Fuck it."

The last ash dropped with the half- burnt tobacco. "I'm done. I can't keep people safe, can't do my job, so I'm out." She stood up, staring into the sun, "See you 'round."

"Oh come on, you're just going to give up? What kind of Bunker Hillian are you?" Piper called towards the shrinking figure.

Kessler paused to turn around, "The kind that realizes I never had anything to begin with."

.o.0.o.

"What in fuck's name?" Piper murmured. Before her was the wreckage of Faneuil Hall, previously a semi-wreck of a Mutant nest, now half-blown to smithereens with bodies of the green giants and their dogs everywhere. Bootprints told a story of lots of running, probably a dozen people. Shell casings and empty laser cells littered the area, and Piper found two stubs of cigars.

Inside the building told the same story. Bullet holes everywhere, dead mutants, well- stacked books? Nothing human stacked books like that. A Stetson lay near it, drenched in blood. "What the hell is this?"

They were piled according to subject. Some were too decrepit to read. Math, science, history, all the basics of civilization. Philosophy, physics, computer programming, fiction, autobiographies.

At least the light was nice. The new holes in the roof gave excellent sight to the leaning walls, cracked windows, and Super Mutant charging her.

"GRAAAH! DIE STUPID BLUE LADY!" Just the glancing blow of the board felt like broke her arm off. Piper plugged a couple rounds into his torso, then ducked around his side and deeper into the library, wheezing. _Gotta lay off the cigarettes, Piper. Jeez._

The thundering footsteps passed her cranny of a collapsing bookshelf, and Piper reloaded her pistol, cringing all the while. It was definitely screwed up, somehow. Her fingers wouldn't move right, so if she had to, she would have to shoot southpaw. She grimaced. Definitely should have brought Nick.

"GONNA FIND YOU! EAT YOU GOOD!"

Piper crouched, and began sneaking to the door. Step, one two, step, one two. _Creeeeaaak_.

She froze. A yell and thundering footsteps prompted a dash for the door, back out of the musty books and into the sunlight.

"FOUND YOU!"

Piper spun to shoot point-blank at the monster towering over her, tripping backwards onto the door as she did. Her shots perforated the sternum and head, killing instantly. The momentum carried it forward to topple on Piper and crashing the both of them through the door, onto the ground outside, pinning her in place by 750 pounds of bleeding mutant bulk. Her lungs were compressing, and she knew if she didn't get out soon enough the weight would kill her.

Her injured arm was free. Go figure. She scrabbled the broken stonework for something, anything, for leverage, arm twinging and twitching in pain all the while.

 _This is not how I wanted my day to go._

Her arm gave out from the seeking, and slumped uselessly against the ground. _Think. Can't call for help, that'll just attract bad attention. What do I have on me?_

She ran through her usual checklist. Pen. Notepad. A stimpak in her boot. Her pistol, trapped in her left hand, and three loaded magazines, another two empty. None in the chamber. A couple of Rad-X and pain pills, stashed away. Some sweets in a jacket pocket. Bandages in another. Small utility knife strapped to her belt. Pack of cigarettes and a lighter, in her pants.

 _Can't exactly burn the weight off._

The monster's hulking body compressed the reporter's body further, and Piper knew her time was running out. There was a dull ache in her hips and chest from being crushed, and every expansion of her lungs became incrementally smaller. She could see the sky above, the ground and hopefully some long dead ghouls to her right.

Something hard was pressing into her chest, forcing tiny slivers of pain into her stomach. The board. That stupid, shoulder-dislocating board. Piper grimaced, grabbed the exposed edge, and shoved.

Her arm failed almost instantly, falling back to the earth.

 _If I don't get out of here, Nat will kill me._

 _And I'll never see Blue again._

She gripped the plank again, and shoved with everything she had. The other end of the wood scraped her pistol-laden hand, caught ground and gave just enough leverage to shimmy her torso out, sans one 10mm. Great. Now she could breathe, but couldn't move or shoot. One step forward, two steps back.

A soft _snap_ had her head on a swivel. A rasping ghoul launched itself forward, scraping through her shirt and smacking into a mailbox. Piper awkwardly yanked the knife out of her belt with the wrong hand, brandishing it while trying to kick her legs free. Another ghoul cannonballed its body toward her, and Piper landed a lucky strike across its neck in her desperation. A third took advantage of the situation to sink its teeth into her arm. "Gah!" She screamed, blindly beating the irradiated monster with her fist. "Fuck off!"

She sunk the knife into its eye, but the first was back, having shaken its mailbox-induced concussion off. It lunged and one hand- no, _claw_ scraped her chin while the other grabbed her hair and used its momentum to slam her head into the ground.

 _Feral my ass!_ Was her last thought before losing consciousness.

The blackness cleared after what seemed like a moment, and she found her left arm being pulled on, dragging her backwards. Her knife was gone. Her legs were free. She kicked upwards, and irradiated mitts clamped on her throat. Piper's vision started to cloud, and she desperately searched for a weapon of any kind in her pockets.

A pencil slammed into the ghoul's head, and it toppled over, dead.

Piper scrambled back towards the dead Mutant, heaved its body enough to retrieve her pistol, and made her way towards Diamond City.

"Okay," she said to the ruined skyscrapers, "I'll come prepared next time."

And she limped home.


	8. The Good, Bad, and Blue

A soft set of three taps on the door pulled Piper away from the evening Grognak comic she had been engrossed in. Piper opened the door to a new sight. It was raining, light refracting from the Noodle Cup's Edison lights across Diamond City. A blonde woman stood at Piper's door, her new gouge running from her chin to sternum entirely healed, vault suit now thoroughly duct taped and up-armored with random bits and bobs, some Gunner, Raider, and Railroad. She wore a well-loved Minuteman militia Stetson atop her dirtied locks. "Hey." Blue said preemptively.

Piper was stunned. "Two months?"

The woman shifted a bit on either foot. "I, uh, have some news. Mind if I come in?"

"Two fucking months? You drop me off at Diamond City, kiss me goodbye and-"

"Who kissed you goodbye?" Nat interrupted. "You kissed someone? Oh, hey lady!"

"Hi Nat. How are you?"

"I'm great. Where the hell have you been? Piper thought you were dead and got really drunk about it." Nat laughed. Blue didn't. She looked horrified.

"Oh God Piper, I'm so sorry. I've just been so busy. Can I tell you about it? It'll make for some great articles."

Piper wanted to explode. _She just waltzes back into your life like- like-_

Piper slapped her. It happened so fast she didn't even realize why her hand hurt and why Blue had a nasty red mark across her cheek. "Oh shit- Blue- I"

The blonde held up a hand. "No- I- I think I deserved that. I'll uh, be over at the Dugout if you want to, um, talk. Bye Nat, it was nice seeing you."

"Bye!"

.o.0.o.

"Two damn months. Two _fucking_ months. And she expects a warm and welcome hello, not even bothering to send someone to- or a letter- or- gah!" Piper fumed.

"Can you quit pacing? It's giving me a headache." Nat complained.

"I'll pace whenever I- right. Sorry. Did you need something?"

"Can I go over to Nina's house for the night?"

"Is all of your homework done?"

"Yes. Why are you so mad at her?"

"Room clean?" Piper asked, pointedly ignoring the question.

"Yes. Can I go?"

"Will you be okay to go to school directly from her house tomorrow?"

" _Yes_ Piper." Nat exasperated with an eye roll. "I'll be all fine. I'm almost more worried about you."

"I'll figure it out. I'm going to go to- do something." Piper decided.

"At the Dugout?" Nat asked perceptively. "Because you look like you could use a drink."

"I- yeah, okay? I'll be at the Dugout if you need me."

"Cool. Bye!" she shouted as the door shut.

Piper groaned, washed her face, and went to the bar. Vadim was serving his usual swill, and patrons were being served by Scarlett, who she avoided eye contact with, heading straight for the Bobrov. "Publick herself! Welcome! What can I get you?"

"Just a beer, thanks" Piper said, "And a sealed one at that."

"Yes, yes, I know. No need to bring up bad memories." Vadim said, placing a beer on the counter, sweeping her caps away.

Piper nursed the alcohol, quietly wishing she could afford something stronger. She saw the woman of her dreams, nightmares and everything in between sitting at a corner table drinking a Nuka Cola from a glass.

"Didn't think you'd stay sober in a bar."

Blue jerked her head up in a sloppy fashion, looking far more drunk than Piper expected. "Oh no. I'm not. You see, I've just had the worst week of my life. I was looking forward to seeing this woman I- well, I like her quite a lot, and she's pissed at me. So I figured, with the caps I was planning on spending for our dinner at the Taphouse, why not just get wasted?"

"Great plan." Piper said sardonically, spotting the bottle of amber liquid, "If it involves you having a place to sleep. That woman probably doesn't want to sleep around you, so maybe stay away from her."

Blue took a long shot of Nuka- Whiskey, "Oh I know. I've just bought a house in town. I was going to ask her to celebrate with me about it, and because I broke into the Institute."

Piper blinked. And then blinked again. And then just once more, for good measure. "Are you serious?"

Blue stared into the empty glass as if trying to see its soul. "Finally got you, didn't I?"

Piper sagged into a hardwood chair. Processing the words at a half speed in her brain. "Are you for- don't fuck with me now!"

She nodded wordlessly. "It gets better. Remember my son, Shaun? He's not ten. He's sixty. And the Director of the Institute."

Piper's jaw dropped. No fucking way. "He- You mean-"

"He's the boogeyman." She poured more whiskey and cola into the glass.

Piper took a minute. All the people disappearing, living in fear, probably the Mayor of Diamond city, the entire-

"Whoa."

"Yeah."

"So what will you do now?"

"I'm going to hear him out, I think. But at this moment, I am going to get some supplies, go to my house, and get really, really fucked up." She stood, wavering just a bit, and considered Piper. "You are- I don't want to say welcome because you're pretty fuckin' mad at me, but you are allowed to join me, and I would greatly like it."

"You curse a lot more when you're buzzed, you know that?" Piper noted as she helped gather bottles from Vadim and take them to her house. Piper realized it was the house Nat had an eye on because it was so much bigger and would allow her to have a full size room. Piper couldn't afford it though, on their meager budget, three thousand caps was a hell of caps for a house. Even if it was probably the best house in the city. And the best city in a fifty mile radius.

Little was inside, a couch, coffee table, a workbench covered in hand tools, some pieces of clean sheet metal supported by the wall. An armor rack, covered in Brotherhood fatigues. "Sorry about the lack of decor." Blue slurred slightly while waving a shaking hand, "Jus' bought it today."

"It could use some light, too."

"Yeah."

They locked eyes. "I'm sorry, Piper." She sat down. "I fucked up. I know I did. I'm just- there was a lot to do."

"Like wipe out all the raiders at Libertalia? Or start at least three new settlements I know of and what in the ever loving hell happened at Bunker Hill?"

Blue looked glum. "You heard about all that?"

"You are about the last thing from subtle."

"I know I just… I needed you to hear it all from me."

Piper sat down on the coffee table, as Blue took the couch and a glass of Nuka- Whiskey. She took a drink. "I went into the Glowing Sea. Total nightmare place. I don't ever want to go back. Down there I found the Virgil guy, he'd transformed himself into a Super Mutant to survive the radiation. He told me I needed a Courser Chip, which allows for teleportation. They're synths, but hardcore beyond belief. So I killed one."

Blue paused only for breath, "After that I took the chip to the Railroad. Told me I would have to go back to Virgil in the Sea, and get some sort of plan on how to get in there. He gave me a drawing, I had Tom, Ingram, and Sturges build it. Tom got the programming, Ingram had the high complexity structures, and Sturges put the whole thing together. Did I mention how I'm now a Knight? Yeah, that got me some brownie points in the Brotherhood. Then I got into the Institute. I've even got a teleporter chip in my Pip-Boy, to bring someone with me. And I met- I met Shaun. "

Piper took the bottle, and drank it straight. Blue nodded. "That's how I feel. And now that you're all caught up, I think I'm done talking and ready to start drinking."

The reporter wiped a nearby coffee mug clean with her shirt and filled it. "I'm going to need a lot more than that, Blue, but for now you're off my shit list."

The woman looked up past her glass. "Yeah? Oh thank God, I thought you were going to start callin' me as Nora instead of Blue."

Piper stopped dead. "Nora? Your name is Nora."

"Ah shit."

"You have an actual, normal name?"

"I knew this was going to happen."

"Only because you didn't tell anyone your name!" Piper said. She must have conveyed enough warmth because Blue- _Nora_ smiled. "I wanted a fresh start. Is that so bad? I really liked Blue. I liked it because you gave it to me."

A distinctive knot formed in Piper's stomach. _Oh. Those feelings definitely did not go away._ "I mean, no, but come on, the way you were hiding it I thought for sure it was something really bad or weird."

"I mean- no- Just-"

Blue took another slug. Nora. This was mind warping. "Forget my old name and use my new one. Only you can."

"What do you mean?" Piper's curiosity was aroused.

Blue's eyes rolled right in a pondering sort of way, "I met this girl named Magnolia, at the Third Rail. I was telling her about you after we banged-"

"Excuse you?"

Nora blinked. "What? You seemed like a good topic of pillow talk."

Piper's head spun. "Back up. Back the fuck up. You like women?"

Nora nodded. "Thought that was obvious."

"What do you-"

"I fucked Magnolia." She said it casually, like it didn't stomp completely on all of Piper's renewed feelings. And with a swig of whiskey, too.

Magnolia was known across the walls of Diamond City by her smoky singer's voice on DCR. "You- what? I mean, where did-"

"Didn't mean much to be honest. She's pretty good with her lips in all ways, but there was no after feeling, like we didn't have any good feelings just lying together. Anyways, yeah, I like women too."

Piper felt so damn jerked around. Her emotions were playing ping pong and this woman kept throwing balls to fuck with her.

"So," Blue started as she poured her sixth glass, "Are you and I good? For realsies?

The Commonwealth's most intrepid reporter took a long and burning pull from the bottle. "Yeah," She rasped, hoping the alcohol would numb the pain she felt just by being around her.

"We're great."

.o.0.o.

Having Blue back at the office was like part of the sofa being put back together. But being on –okay-well _, good_ \- terms was like having part of her soul back, even if that part hurt just a little bit. Or a lot. But it didn't matter, she still felt infinitely better. Blue was back at it with the upgrades. Piper came back one afternoon from consulting with Valentine on something called the Stranger Case. She heard the whir of a mechanical grinder and the smell of heated metal. And she saw Blue making the final cut to open her bedroom to the outdoors. "What on earth are you _doing?"_ She cried out.

Blue placed her safety glasses in the corner, next to her Pip-boy (which was playing DCR), "What do you mean? I'm making you a window."

"You ever heard of _crime_?"

The blonde shook her head and pulled over one of two nearby brown paper-wrapped package. "Not with this stuff. This is pre-War polycarbonate. Very little was made and it can survive a beating." She pulled the wrapper off and dropped it into a prepared frame. "Here, hit it."

"Why?"

"Is Piper Wright turning down a challenge?"

 _I'll break your stupid glass and show you what's what._ Piper punched the glass as hard as she could. The shock went back through her elbow and into her shoulder. "OW OW OW, FUCK! Damn you, Blue!"

The woman slid behind her to cradle Piper's arm. Piper almost forgot about the whole thing when she felt Blue's warm puffs of laughter on the back of her neck. _Shit_. "Damn Piper, what did it ever do to you? You decked it like it owed you money."

A cool February breeze rolled through the new window. Blonde locks obscured Piper's vision, and she felt herself start leaning into Blue. "You goaded me and you know it. Seriously, Blue. You don't ask for my okay to help around the house, you refuse to stop helping people. It's awful. If you weren't so nice to Nat, I'd put you out on the street."

Blue's raw laugh warmed Piper, her stomach twisted when the blonde put her arms around the reporter's waist and even more so when a pointy chin dug lightly into her shoulder. "God Piper. If it weren't for your mouth, I don't think I'd like you half as much."

 _Don't take that sexually. Don't do it._ Piper twisted her neck to look at her crush. "And what about the other half, you old crone?"

Blue's eyes stayed focused on something unseeable out the new window, "Oh your heart well makes up for the other half, and your brilliance any remainder of doubt. And you're _funny_."

Piper had been called many things over her life, a snoop, nosy, driven, and persuasive were among the kindest. But _funny_? Nowhere near. A warm flush traveled unbidden through her, and she could feel every nerve in her toes. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Please, continue."

"Well," Blue thought aloud, facing her but eyes shut, "You're a great mom, you love Nat more than just being her sister. You're determined, sarcastic, and you always want to do the right thing."

Piper realized she was drifting towards kissing her, and stopped microseconds before the other woman opened her eyes.

"Hey," Blue whispered with a smile.

Piper jerked backwards, into the cold air and away from the warm grasp of her infatuation. "Sorry! I didn't mean to get into your personal space. I just- I mean-"

"Oh, I didn't mean I w- Or that is, didn't" Blue flustered and then breathed. "Okay. How about, 'never mind' and we'll forget the whole thing?"

Piper bit her lip hard, feeling the color rise in her cheeks from pink past red and straight into maroon. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

A flicker of frustration shot across Blue's face and was washed away by a warm smile that didn't quite match the cryo-storage cold blue eyes. "Good. Glad we're clear then."

.o.0.o.

Piper was typing an article on the new Nuka World radio signal when her power went out. _Dammit! Okay, I paid the electrical bill, I paid the month's loan, and McDonough doesn't have anything over me. So what happened?_

"Piper?" an inquisitive voice asked out of the darkness of their home.

"I know, Nat, let me find out."

She stepped into the evening air. The refurbished mercury thermometer Blue stuck on the outside of her house read 52 degrees. Decent for March. But it was all wrong. All of Diamond City was black. The lights of Takahashi's stand were out, and only the Protectron's red crystal diode gleamed. People were leaving their homes just like Piper, looking around and asking the same question. "What just happened?"

Blue burst out of her house whooping. "I did it! I did it! Piper, you've got to see this!"

 _Oh no. People are going to blame me for this. Whatever_ this _is._ "What happened, Blue?"

Blue ran up to her, and showed her a piece of metal with a long, jagged line of weld with a flashlight. "So?"

"So what? Why are the lights out?"

Arturo had wandered over with Nina to see what Nora was excited over. "Looks like a weld?"

Blue flashed him a thousand-watt smile. "Yeah, but I didn't do it with oxygen and acetylene that we keep running out of. I did it with _electricity_."

"What does that mean?" Nina asked.

Arturo understood immediately. "It means instead of searching and dragging highly combustible gases across the Commonwealth, you can do it without running out of fuel?"

"Barring today, yes." Blue gestured around to the dark city. "I must have blown the circuits, and I'll get with Abbot to help fix that. But do you guys realize the structural implications? We won't have to rivet stuff together anymore. We can build upwards, a lot higher. Defenses will be reinforced-"

"What's all this ruckus?" The mayor shoved through the crowd and came upon Piper at the center. "Piper, I told you, one more instance of rabble rousing and the Wrights will be thrown out of the city! And where's Abbot? We need the damn power back on!"

Piper felt her hackles raise. "Oh sure. Blame me for everything, McDonough. Not like-"

She felt the calm hand of Blue rest on her shoulder. "Mayor, this is my fault. I was doing a welding experiment and I must have blown something. I'll get the power back, you have my word."

Piper watched as McDonough's face battled between yelling at Diamond City's favorite resident in front of everyone, or apologizing to Piper. His shoulders slumped as he muttered. "Get it done, and quickly." Before stalking off.

Blue turned to Piper as the crowd broke up. "See you when I get the lights back on?"

Piper couldn't help smiling. "Yeah. I'll bring the beers."

And at noon the next day, Piper's lights flickered back to life an hour before Blue walked in the door. She looked exhausted, was covered in grease, oil, rust particles. Her jeans were torn, and her t-shirt had several new burn holes in it. But she did that smile that made Piper's stomach twitch kind of hard. "I could really use that beer."

"Yeah, you look like it," Piper said as she handed the Gwinnett over. "How was working with Abbot?"

"He was pretty pissed at first, but excited at the prospect of welding when we figure out a breaker system." She took a sip and sighed in pleasure. "Guy's like a nuclear mechanic if I ever saw one. Traced the failure to old aluminum reactor cables that needed replacement. They just couldn't handle the amount of power I was using, and melted entirely."

Nora took another sip and suddenly stared at the bottle. "Why is this cold?"

Piper grinned mischievously, "Drinkin' Buddy."

"What? I thought he was in Goodneighbor?"

"Yefim couldn't stand the humiliation of being beat out by the Rexford in having refrigeration, so he bought it. Paid a hell of a price, too."

Blue rolled her eyes. "Idiot. If he wanted refrigeration, he could have just asked _me_ about it."

"I think he just wanted a beer serving robot, really,"

"Probably." Blue mused. "Hey, remember the Forged?"

"Those fire worshipping maniacs? The ones who threw enough Molotovs to make Vadim proud, and ruined my favorite scarf?"

Nora frowned. "No need to rub it in."

"Just trying to show you how on point this reporter is."

"Smartass. Anyways, they're a legitimate business now. Saugus Forgeworks is open for business. Assholes to deal with all around, but you can buy new steel from them. I uh- well, I won't tell you about that project just yet. The main work has come from the Brotherhood of Steel, and from the new settlements."

Piper blanched. "Seriously? The _Brotherhood_ is who you're selling to?"

Nora shook her head. "Not me. The Forged. Don't forget they see fire as a god. Its spread will give them more power."

"Like more caps?"

"Pretty much. They're still pretty fanatical about recruitment though- each one goes through the same trials."

Piper wondered how many survived. "And you're okay with that?"

"People have a right to choose to be morons. The fact that they can make a lot of caps at it just makes it enticing."

"Speaking of caps, how on earth did you buy that house in Diamond City? It cost, like three thousand caps."

"Boots. Sanctuary is a huge producer ever since we got the tooling for it. Purified water is another. We've got Sheng Kowalski as competition, he's interested in spreading his water all across the Commonwealth, and I'm good with that, at least until I beat the crap out of him."

"What?!"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean literally. See, there's a settlement I started, called Spectacle island. The fish and dolphins are plentiful, mirelurks too, but since it's an island we'll be able to out produce him, as soon as I build a bridge from Warwick Homestead."

"Blue, that's not fair. He's just a kid."

Blue gave her a curious look. "Fair? He's the most cutthroat businessman I've met. I think I'm going to ask him to run parts of it, once I show I can knock him out of the park. Besides the purified water business, I started most of the merchants out in my settlements on the agreement I take 10-15% of their net revenue, after which they get their cut. I also uh, have a lot of future plans."

"Like?" Piper poked at her.

"Like I was thinking if this welding thing does work… and machine work picks up with it… I'd start my own business here in town. And I'd add another floor to the house. That way- well, um never mind."

Piper tipped her head to the side. "Oh come on Blue. Tell me."

Blue turned red, and mumbled something into her beer. Grinning, Piper poked her friend again. "Sorry, what was that? Couldn't quite hear you over your embarrassment."

The blonde drooped her head, "I was going to ask you and Nat to move in with me."

Piper's heart stopped. "You- uh, whatnow?"

"I-I mean," Blue stammered, "Only if you wanted to! You're- Well, you're pretty much family to me. And Nat! Nat's family too, I think she should have her own room. It would all be above the shop- so it would be loud and smell like oil and burned stuff, and you know what never mind. It was stupid idea."

Piper's sense of wonderment must have extended to her expression, because when Blue finally looked up at her, she asked a startled, "What?"

"I love you."

The words came so naturally from her lips, Piper wasn't sure if she'd said them, save for the mirror of shock on Blue's face. _This isn't how I meant to say it. Do- whatever._

"I mean- Blue, you're pretty much my only friend next to Nick- we kind of skipped a lot of the _get-to-know-you_ part, and you're my best friend for sure. So I kind of love you."

The gaping disappeared and was replaced by a flash of disappointment, so brief Piper thought she imagined it. The blonde twisted her mouth into an almost pained smile. "You're my best friend too Pipes." She drained her beer. "Well, I'm going to go work on the shop… Just, um, think about my offer, okay?"

And before Piper could say another word, Blue disappeared out of Piper's front door, leaving her annoyed and confused beyond belief.


End file.
